Protective article tray

ABSTRACT

A tray adapted to be positioned inside a container in stacked relationship with at least one additional tray of like construction to support and protect a plurality of fragile articles against breakage. The tray includes a substantially flat plate defining a plurality of article-seating spaced throughbores formed in rows with throughbores of adjacent rows being disposed in staggered relationship to each other. The tray further includes a plurality of spacer members projecting outwardly from at least one side of said flat plate and alternating with said throughbores in each row. Each of the spacer members is of substantially resilent construction and is of a size and configuration adapted to engage articles seated in adjacent throughbores in both the same row occupied by said spacer member and rows adjacent to said same row to prevent the articles from contacting one another.

Man

United States Patent [191 Flynn 1 PROTECTIVE ARTICLE TRAY [76] Inventor:

[22] Filed:

Stanley F. Flynn, 34 Sotelo Way,

Novato, Calif.

May 7, 1970 [2]] Appl. N0.l 35,314

[52] U.S. Cl ..229/2.5, 217/265 [51 Int. Cl. ..B65d 1/36 [58] Field of Search ..229/2.5, 29 M; 217/265, 27

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,951,605 9 1960 Flynn ..215/35 3,451,577 6/1969 Norick i ..2l7/26.5 3,360,l5() 12/1967 Schechtcr i 217/265 3,074,582 1/1963 Martelli et al. .....2l7/26.5

R25.094 12/1961 Flynn i ..229/2.5 3,398,875 8/1968 Snow ct al. t 229/25 1,227,224 5/1917 Voorhorst i ..217/26.5 2,939 602 6/l960, Grant 217/265 Primary Examiner-Leonard Summer Assistant ExaminerStephen Marcus Anorney Naylor & Neal [57] ABSTRACT A tray adapted to be positioned inside a container in stacked relationship with at least one additional tray of like construction to support and protect a plurality of fragile articles against breakage. The tray includes a substantially flat platedefining a. plurality" of article.- seating spaced throughbores formed in rows with throughbores of adjacent rows being disposed in staggered relationship to each other. The tray further includes a plurality of spacer members projecting outwardly from at least one side of said flat plate and al ternating with said throughbores in each row. Each of the spacer members is of substantially resilent construction and is of a size and configuration adapted to engage articles seated in adjacent throughbores in both the same row occupied by said spacer member and rows adjacent to said same row to prevent the articles from contacting one another.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 61975 3. 7 l 5; 071

I '8 i 18 K 10 K WI W I Q QIYNVENTOR.

STANLEY F. FLYNN BY z Z ATTORNEYS PROTECTIVE ARTICLE TRAY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the packaging of articles, and more particularly, to a tray which is adapted to be assembled with other like trays within a container, to make it possible to ship eggs, Christmas tree ornaments, fruits and the like within the container without undue damage or breakage.

When transporting articles of this nature, it is quire important to make maximum utilization of the space provided in the container while at the same time insuring a substantial degree of protection for the articles while being transported. Quite naturally, ease of packing and unpacking is an additional consideration, as is the durability and cost of the trays employed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tray adapted for the retention and protection of articles which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide an article retention tray which is adapted to facilitate stacking and unstacking and when in stacked relation with at least one additional tray of like construction provides a significant degree of protection to articles retained therein in all directions.

The above-noted and other objects have been attained in accordance with the teachings of the present invention by providing a tray adapted to be positioned inside the container in stacked relationship with atleast one additional tray of like construction to support and protect a plurality of fragile articles against breakage. The tray comprises in combination a substantially flat plate having a plurality of spacer members extending therefrom. The flat plate defines a plurality of articleseating space throughbores formed in rows with throughbores of adjacent rows being disposed in staggered relationship to each other. The spacer members are alternated with the throughbores in each row. Each of the spacer members is ofa substantially resilent construction and includes a generally cone-shaped tubular DESCRIPTION or THE DRAWINGS The above-noted and other objects of this invention will be understood from the following description taken with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a tray embodying the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating details of a spacer member which is one of a plurality employed on the tray of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an edge view of a portion of two trayconstructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, illustrated in back-to-back relationship; and v FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of fragmentary portions of two cooperating trays constructed in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawing, a tray I constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is designated generally by means of reference numeral 10. The tray comprises a substantially flat plate 12 which is constructed of a relatively rigid, lightweight material such as polystyrene, LU- CITE, hard rubber, or the like. Formed in plate 12 are a plurality of throughbores 14 which are disposed in rows staggered with respect to one another in the manner which may best be seen with reference to FIG. 1. The throughbores are of a size adapted to accommodate therein articles such as eggs 16 with the outer surface of the egg resting in engagement with the flat plate 12 and a portion of the egg projecting downwardly through the throughbore as may be seen with particular reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Although only three rows of eggs are illustrated in FIG. 1, it should be understood that a single tray 10 incorporates any desired number of rows in accordance with the number of eggs or other articles to be carried thereby.

In each row between the throughbores thereof are disposed spacer members 18 which are of relatively resilient construction. The spacer member may, if desired, be integrally formed with flat plate 12 as by being molded in a single piece therewith or, alternatively, each spacer member may be constructed separately and secured to the flat plate as by means of adhesive, etc. From the overall standpoint of economy and simplicity, however, it is preferred that the tray 10 be of unitary construction.

The configuration of a. spacer member 18 may best be seen with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Each spacer member includes a generally cone-shaped tubular body 20 having a central longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the flat plate 12. A plurality of protrusions in theform of hollow ribs 22 and 24 are integrally formed with :said body and extend over substantially the full length thereof, with the ribs being disposed indiametric opposition to one another. Spacer member 18 is truncated to define substantially flat outwardly disposed support surfaces 26 and 28 on the ribs 22 and 24, respectively. At the outermost extent thereof tubular body 20 is indented to provide indented surfaces 30 and 32 which communicate with the flat support surfaces 26 and 28.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the relationship between tray 10 and the articles with which it is associated may readily be seen. The eggs 16 or other arti cles when being crated are positioned over the throughbores 14 of the tray. Upon so doing, the article engages the tubular body 20 of adjacent spacer members 18 lying in the same row. The indented surfaces 30 and 32 of each spacer member conform to the shape of the article when the article is of an ovoid-shape such as that of an egg. Each spacer member 18 also is in engagement with adjacent eggs or other articles which are placed in rows adjacent to the row whichis occupied by the spacer member. Suchengagement is had between the ribs 22 and 24 of the spacer member and the article. This is. due to the fact that the ribs 22 and 24 extend toward these adjacent rows. In this manner, a single spacer member 18 may be utilized to maintain separation between four eggs or other shipped articles, i.e., adjacent articles lying in the same row and adjacent articles lying in rows adjacent to the row which is occupied by the spacer member. Due to the flexible characteristics of the spacer members, differences in article sizes may be readily compensated for.

After one tray has been completely filled with articles, a second tray of like configuration is inverted and positioned so that said trays are placed in engaged stacked relationship with the spacer members 18 thereof placed in registry. The spacer members 18 project outwardly from their associated flat plates 12 to a degree sufficient that the flat support surfaces 26 and 28 of spacer members that are in registry are placed into engagement.

It should be noted that each tray 10 has spacer members l8 projecting from both sides of the fiat plate 12, with the spacer members associated with opposite sides being staggered with respect to one another but lying in a row. In other words, each of the spacer members surrounds a throughbore 14 with the egg or other object being retained within the throughbore on the side of the flat plate opposite the associated spacer member. In this manner, eggs or other articles being crated may be disposed in tiers but in staggered relationship. The spacer members which are brought into registry upon inversion and positioning of the topmost tray assist in carrying the weight of the trays and associated articles disposed thereabove due to the fact that flat support surfaces 26 and 28 of the spacer members are in engagement. In this manner, a greater number of tray tiers may be utilized in a single container than would be the case where the articles being transported would have to assume all or most of the burden. The ribs 22 and 24 of the spacer members therefore act in a dual capacity in that they assist in maintaining separation between articles stored in adjacent rows while at the same time function as structural members to carry the weight of the overburden. The hollow construction of the ribs allows them to more readily accomodate eggs of varying sizes and facilitates nesting.

Although a single embodiment has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the subjoined claims. For example, the general shape of the spacer members may be varied somewhat as by providing them with a closed top wall rather than an open top as shown. This would be particularly useful here the materials used in constructing the trays have relatively non-rigid, low strength characteristics such as plastic foam, since some additional strength of construction would be provided, Further, the tubular body of the spacer member might be indented intermediate the ribs thereof to facilitate nesting with adjoining eggs. As a final additional example of a modification which might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention, concave tongue members could be provided on the spacer members which project upwardly from the lowermost extent of indented surfaces 30 and 32 to a location below surfaces 26 and 28. These tongues could provide an additional means against which an adjoining egg or the like would bear when stacked into position.

In the foregoing description, rows" signified horizontally directed (with respect to FIG. 1) lines of throughbores or apertures and spacer members. These lines could be appropriately designated as ranks" and the vertically directed (with respect to FIG. 1) lines of throughbores or apertures and spacer members could be appropriately designated as files, a la chess and checker board nomenclature. The center to center dimensions, A, of the rank apertures are alike, as shown, and the center to center dimensions, B, of the file apertures are alike, as shown, the latter being greater than the former in the amount of approximately twice the radial dimension of ribs 22 and 24, as shown.

I claim:

1. A tray of the type described comprising a flat plate having ranks and files of equi-sized apertures, alternately upwardly and downwardly directed, alike, cone-like tubular members centered about said apertures and extending therefrom, the apertures of said ranks having alike center to center dimensions of one predetermined value and the apertures of said files having alike center to center dimensions of another and different predetermined value, the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said files being greater than the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said ranks, said tubular members each having a pair of oppositely and radially directed rib members constituting extensions of said tubular members in the direction of the lengths of and extending substantially parallel to said files, said tubular members being free of extensions in the direction of the lengths of said ranks, whereby an egg seated upon said plate within a given aperture may engage and be supported by two tubular members along the line of direction of a rank and by two rib members along the line of direction of a file.

2. A tray adapted to be positioned inside a container in stacked relationship with at least one additional tray of like construction to support and protect a plurality of fragile articles against breakage, said tray comprising, in combination, a substantially flat plate defining a plurality of article-seating spaced throughbores formed in rows, with throughbores of adjacent rows being disposed in staggered relationship to each other, and a plurality of spacer members projecting outwardly from at least one side of said flat plate and alternating with said throughbores in each row, each of said spacer members being of substantially resilient construction and having a size and configuration adapted to engage articles seated in adjacent throughbores in both the same row occupied by said spacer member and rows adjacent to and disposed on both sides of said same row to prevent said articles from contacting one another, each of said spacer members including a generally cone-shaped tubular body having a central longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of said flat plate and a surface adapted to be engaged by articles seated in adjacent through-bores in the same row occupied by said spacer member, a pair of ribs on said body and extending radially outwardly therefrom away from said central longitudinal axis and toward said adjacent rows, said ribs being integrally formed with said body, being disposed in diametral opposition to one another, and extending to the end of said tubular body and enhancing the surface area thereof for interjacent support of a similar but inverted tray. 

1. A tray of the type described comprising a flat plate having ranks and files of equi-sized apertures, alternately upwardly and downwardly directed, alike, cone-like tubular members centered about said apertures and extending therefrom, the apertures of said ranks having alike center to center dimensions of one predetermined value and the apertures of said files having alike center to center dimensions of another and different predetermined value, the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said files being greater than the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said ranks, said tubular members each having a pair of oppositely and radially directed rib members constituting extensions of said tubular members in the direction of the lengths of and extending substantially parallel to said files, said tubular members being free of extensions in the direction of the lengths of said ranks, whereby an egg seated upon said plate within a given aperture may engage and be supported by two tubular members along the line of direction of a rank and by two rib members along the line of direction of a file.
 1. A tray of the type described comprising a flat plate having ranks and files of equi-sized apertures, alternately upwardly and downwardly directed, alike, cone-like tubular members centered about said apertures and extending therefrom, the apertures of said ranks having alike center to center dimensions of one predetermined value and the apertures of said files having alike center to center dimensions of another and different predetermined value, the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said files being greater than the center to center dimensions of the apertures of said ranks, said tubular members each having a pair of oppositely and radially directed rib members constituting extensions of said tubular members in the direction of the lengths of and extending substantially parallel to said files, said tubular members being free of extensions in the direction of the lengths of said ranks, whereby an egg seated upon said plate within a given aperture may engage and be supported by two tubular members along the line of direction of a rank and by two rib members along the line of direction of a file. 